Do It! Marketing Blog: Marketing for Smart People™

BOO! 17 things that should scare the heck out of you

24

Halloween can be a scary time.

In honor of this sugar-filled yet frightful holiday, here are 17 things that should scare the heck out of YOU and any small business owner, entrepreneur, or independent professional...

  1. Prospects who lie. And they all lie all the time.
  2. Business partnerships. No, no, noooooo!!! Don’t do it. EVER.
  3. Arrogance
  4. Complacency
  5. Inertia (Yours and your prospects and clients too)
  6. Not having a sales process - or not sticking to the one you have
  7. Nightmare clients from hell
  8. Tire-kickers, price shoppers, and broke-ass losers
  9. Social media overload
  10. Making payroll every two weeks - even if it’s only paying yourself
  11. Hiring, firing, and everything in between
  12. Prospects who ask for free consulting
  13. Not hiring a great IP attorney to protect your brand/ logo/ trademarks
  14. Waking up in a cold sweat realizing your REAL job is sales
  15. Prospects seeing your products, services, and programs as a commodity
  16. Not outsourcing and delegating everything you possibly can
  17. Collecting great marketing ideas - but never implementing them (Aaarghhhhh!!)

What would YOU add to this list?

Please leave a comment below and let's discuss...

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Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing for coaches, consultant marketing, thought leadership marketing, coach marketing, teleseminar marketing, teleseminar selling, trusted advisor marketing, marketing for trainers, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, do it marketing, lead generation

Marketing Coach Tip: Everything old is profitable again

 

26

Old is the New "NEW" - meaning, when it comes to marketing, everything old is profitable again! 

As a marketing speaker and marketing coach, I'm always being asked, "What's new? What's next?" Well, this answer may surprise you...

If you've been doing business (online or not) since the 1990's, today's marketing landscape should be eerily familiar... 

Check out these "retro" tactics - they're BACK and BIGGER and BETTER than ever... 

1. Online advertising - Google AdWords was the Granddaddy of them all... Remember when you could just buy some banner ads and the leads would pour in? (Yah, me neither. It was ALWAYS more complicated than that!!) Modern update: Advertising on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter (and yes, Google of course) is creating a whole new online ad boom - just like the good old days!

Why? Because they're proven, they work (if you know what you're doing), and they can make you a LOT of money. 

2. Pop-up ads and pop-up offers - long the scourge of the Internet, pop-ups (and pop-under, pop-over, PopTart and every other sneaky variation) were rampant in the 1990's and early 2000's. Until the pop-up blocker industry came along, made millions of dollars, wiped the evil pop-up off the face of the earth... until today when pop-ups are back, bigger and better than ever.

Why? Because they're proven, they work (if you know what you're doing), and they can make you a LOT of money. 

3. Teleseminars - 10 years ago, you couldn't spit without hitting some business guru offering free teleseminars to showcase his or her products, services, or programs. Or offering paid teleseminars to generate a lot of revenue quickly. Fast forward to today, yes we have webinars, Google Hangouts, and virtual training - but guess what? Old school teleseminars are back, bigger than ever.

Why? Because they're proven, they work (if you know what you're doing), and they can make you a LOT of money. 

p.s. I don't know much about online advertising or pop-ups, but you can grab a boatload of actionable information on teleseminars (both Teleseminars as Marketing - and Teleseminars as Revenue) in this free "Teleseminar Domination" video series. Enjoy!

Click below to grab your FREE videos...


teleseminar domination free video series

Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing for coaches, consultant marketing, thought leadership marketing, coach marketing, teleseminar marketing, teleseminar selling, trusted advisor marketing, marketing for trainers, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, do it marketing, lead generation

17 vital differences between a market and an audience

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As a speaker, consultant, thought-leading executive or entrepreneur, you may have heard about the importance of building an audience for your work... Sounds great. 

But it's nowhere as important as developing a market for your expertise. 

Here are 17 vital differences between a market and an audience.

You can spend YEARS attracting and serving an audience that is NOT your market. And that's just sad, painful, and frustrating. 

These are as pernicious as they are deceptive. 

WHICH of these has been holding you back - confusing you - or set you to wondering how come you're not making more money?

Let's go down the list... 

  1. An audience listens - A market pays attention
  2. An audience wants entertainment - A market wants to solve problems
  3. An audience values an experience - A market values expertise
  4. An audience wants to watch - A market wants to act
  5. An audience wants information - A market wants implementation
  6. An audience reacts - A market responds
  7. An audience wants their questions answered - A market wants their answers questioned
  8. An audience wants you to be popular - A market wants you to be right
  9. An audience asks “What can you do?” - A market asks “What’s next?” and “What else?”
  10. An audience says, “Great show!” - A market says, “Great job!”
  11. An audience tells their friends - A market tells their boss
  12. An audience buys your book - A market reads your book
  13. An audience likes your ideas - A market implements your ideas
  14. An audience wants your autograph - A market wants to give you their signature
  15. An audience applauds - A market refers
  16. An audience says, “Thank you” - A market says, “Thank goodness!”

and finally - most important of all - read this next one as often as you need to...

17. An audience will HEAR you - A market will PAY you (well, often, and gladly)

Expert marketers not only build an audience - they develop a market for their value, ideas, products, services, and programs.

Want to apply for your Speaker Strategy Call to see how you can IMPLEMENT some of these concepts right away? Apply for your call here.

 

Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing for coaches, consultant marketing, consulting firm marketing, thought leadership marketing, marketing professional services, professional services marketing, trusted advisor marketing, marketing expert, marketing for trainers, marketing professional services firms, marketing coaching, expert marketing, professional speaker marketing, motivational speaker marketing, marketing consultant, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, thought leadership, inbound marketing, professional services selling, lead generation, recognized authority, market vs. audience

Marketing for Experts: The Real Deal

Marketing expert marketing speaker og adThe ad above first appeared in Business Week in 1958 – 56 years ago!

The moral of the ad’s story was relevant then and it is even more relevant today: establish expertise and build relationships before you try to sell.

The good news is that experts win on value and generalists die on price. 

The bad news is that we live in far more cynical times than the sellers of the 1950’s; but more good news is that YOU have so many more tools available to help you address the problem.

If you're investing in "Expert Marketing" (it goes by several other names like inbound marketing, thought-leadership marketing, and content marketing)... then you've probably asked yourself: 

How (and when) will this generate a sale?

And that is completely the WRONG question.

By the time you're done reading this article/ rant/ manifesto, you'll see exactly why - AND you'll be able to ask (and answer) much better questions for your business right away. 

Asking when expert marketing will lead to a sale is like filling up your car's gas tank and asking, "Why aren't we there yet?" 

Answer: Because filling your car with gas is a NECESSARY but NOT SUFFICIENT step to getting you to your destination (a new customer or client).

Do you have a chance of arriving now that your gas tank is full? You bet.

Did you have a chance of getting there with your tank on empty? No way. 

Let's move on... 

Insight #1 You need to sell the same way that YOU buy.

Look at your email spam or bulk email folder. Yes, you. Yes, right now. I'll wait... 

tap... tap... tap... tap... You're back. Excellent.

Did you see that spam email from the toner cartridge company? Did you catch the pitch from the SEO firm that filled out your website's "contact us" form? Did you respond to that great deal on vacation cruises? NO? 

OK now pop over to your paper mail pile on your desk. Did you check out the latest "triple play" offer from Comcast (or whatever hellacious Cable Satan runs in your neck of the woods)? How about that compelling cell phone offer from Verizon? The Wall Street Journal subscription offer under that postcard? Or how about that postcard - you know, the one from the home heating oil company? NO? 

When's the last time you gave your credit card number over to a cold caller who interrupted your family dinner? NEVER??

I'm shocked...

Because you seem pretty excited about YOUR cold calls - and sending out YOUR spam - YOUR offers - YOUR postcards - YOUR sales messages.

The problem with doing it this way? In four words...

Zero. Value. For. Prospects.

And hello? YOU don't BUY this way. What in the world makes you think your prospects DO?

Look once more at the ad above - and answer one simple question: 

Question #1: What VALUE have I ADDED to my prospect's world in order to EARN the RIGHT to INVITE them to a conversation and OFFER my solutions to their urgent, pervasive, expensive problems?

Insight #2 Referrals are great - but they are neither deaf, dumb, nor blind

Next, you'll say that you don't NEED "expert marketing" because 99% of your business is repeat and referral business and it's always been that way and you don't see how this "newfangled marketing" is going to move the needle in closing more sales.

Do you seriously think that referrals don't check you out online before picking up the phone?

What messages are you sending to your valued referrals with...

a. Your outdated website (articles from 2008 are outdated, friends. And from 2003 even more so. And design aesthetic from 1997 most of all.)

b. Your sporadically updated blog that you leave dormant for 2 (or 4 or 6) months at a clip.

c. Your abandoned Twitter account you set up because someone said "you had to" and that now has 37 followers while your competitors have 3,000 (or a whole lot more.) 

d. Your sketchy, bare bones LinkedIn profile that has 300 connections but only 2 recommendations (From 2005. From people with the same last name as you.)

e. Your "glory days" articles and TV clips and PR placements from 20 (yes I'm serious), 10, or even 5 years ago. Nothing screams "has-been" like old media.  

Make no mistake: Getting repeat and referral business is great. But don't kid yourself that this absolves you from having a top-notch web presence, social media platform, and body of knowledge that is ultra-current, super-relevant, and obviously abundant.

In fact, you are leaving yourself open for EMBARRASSMENT if your advocates hear back from their referrals and find themselves in the awkward position of having to DEFEND you to them because your web presence has fallen behind and now casts your professional expertise into doubt.

Question #2: Does my overall web presence REASSURE and REINFORCE the referrals I earn with the most current, credible and relevant expert marketing messages, positioning, content, resources, and value that will make my advocates LOOK BETTER - not worse - for referring me? 

Insight #3 Expert Marketing is a 4-layer enchilada (aka You don't get to eat the delicious golden-brown cheese without first layering on the meat!!)

trusted advisor marketing DOIT

The first layer - at the core of the matter - is your Reputation. Your work. Your track record. If you stop there, you'll have a VERY hard time attracting NEW leads and prospects to your doorstep. "My work should speak for itself" is what a lot of very smart people say - smart people who have a hard time making their mortgage payments.  

The second layer is Amplification. Ways to make your "expert signal" stronger. Enter social media marketing, niche PR, article marketing, blogging, keyword research and search engine optimization. This is the key to spreading your ideas and broadcasting your expertise.

The third layer is Leverage. This is where you begin to capitalize on your "expert marketing" assets such as articles, blogs, videos, podcasts, interviews, white papers, special reports, book excerpts, and other value-first marketing tools. You can now reach out to high-probability prospects both individually (on LinkedIn for example) and collectively (on your blog for example). This is where your job becomes putting the right bait on the right hooks in the right lakes to catch the right fish.  

The fourth layer is Gravity. Just like Jim Collins talks about the "flywheel" concept in Good to Great (it takes a long time to get it spinning but then is very hard to stop because of the power of momentum) - this is where you start to see payoffs. More leads, better prospects, bigger opportunities, more conversations, higher profile alliances, more invitations to speak, publish, guest post, contribute, teach, and (drum roll please...) more invitations to do great work at premium fees for great clients who NOW know you, like you, and trust you enough to hand over 5- and 6-figure checks because their level of confidence in your expertise is pretty damn close to 100%.

Question #3: Do you want to make more sales to strangers? (Good luck with that). Or do you really want more people to recognize, respect, and request YOU by name when they have a need, project, or problem that they instantly see has "your name written all over it"? If that's your goal, then expert marketing is for you. 

Re-read the McGraw-Hill ad above and let's do a 21st century spin on it together...

  • I don't know who you are.
  • I don't read your blog. 
  • I don't subscribe to your newsletter.
  • I don't see your name in my industry's publications.
  • I don't hear my peers spreading your ideas.
  • I don't come across your content in Google searches.
  • I don't connect your solutions to my problems. 
  • I don't feel the gravity of your credibility or credentials.
  • I don't have any tangible way to gauge your expertise or experience.
  • Now -- what was it you wanted to sell me? 

So here's the ultimate (and most important) question for YOU: 

How can you realistically expect to SELL anything by NOT setting the necessary pre-conditions for ANY sale with Expert Marketing?

The answer is as simple as it is obvious: you can't. Just like you can't drive your car from Denver to Sheboygan just by filling up your gas tank. You need to get behind the wheel, plan your route, use your GPS, add more fuel along the way (and probably some beef jerky and Sno-Balls and root beer) AND put in the hours and the miles to get you to your destination.  

Nobody -- and I mean N-O-B-O-D-Y -- hires speakers, consultants or professional services firms sight unseen. You wouldn't. I wouldn't either.

And the facts prove out that today's buyers are just like YOU and ME. 

Expert marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. And as any marathoner will tell you - the best (and only) way to run a marathon is one mile at a time. 

What do you think? Please post YOUR COMMENTS below and... 

trusted advisor marketing for speakers, consultants, experts

Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing for coaches, consultant marketing, thought leadership marketing, professional services marketing, marketing expert, marketing for trainers, expert marketing, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, content marketing, inbound marketing, professional services selling, lead generation

The New Marketing: Ask and Give

amanda palmerThe new marketing is all about Ask and Give

What does that mean? 

  • Ask for attention
  • Give value
     
  • Ask for engagement
  • Give relevance
     
  • Ask for help
  • Give relationship
     
  • Ask for support
  • Give community
     
  • Ask for insights
  • Give advice

Two great examples you can adapt in your own business:

1. My friend Karyn Greenstreet is Asking for your input. And she is Giving 26 business building bonuses for answering her 6-question survey about how small business owners and entrepreneurs like to learn. It will take you two minutes or less to share your opinions. The GIVE is far greater than the ASK. 

2. Here is an amazing story from the world of music - notice how everything Amanda did (and does) is based on Asking and Giving:


What do YOU think of the approach above? Please share your advice, insights and recommendations about the value of ASKING and GIVING in the COMMENTS area below...

marketing coach, marketing speaker

Tags: marketing for speakers, consulting firm marketing, thought leadership marketing, business coaching, freebies, marketing professional services, professional services marketing, trusted advisor marketing, marketing expert, sales prospecting, marketing coaching, marketing ideas, marketing coach, motivational speaker marketing, marketing consultant, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, doit marketing, do it marketing, doitmarketing, sales and marketing, content marketing, lead generation, becoming an expert, internet marketing

Free Program on Cold Calling + Bonuses

master the cold call once and for allWe had over 200 people register for yesterday's "Master the Cold Call Once and for All" teleseminar with Wendy Weiss. 

The program was excellent. And you have to remember, I'm a guy who HATES cold calling. 

The free recording of this 60-minute training call is available for you to download here:

http://www.doitmarketing.com/free-resources-cold-call

NOTE: The special offer on "The Sales Winner's Handbook" (which includes a soup-to-nuts telephone marketing strategy plus 53 context-specific scripts, templates and tools + over $200 in bonuses) expires at midnight tonight 4/18. All the details on that are online for you here

Invest in this cold calling mastery package and your spouse, significant other, dog, bookkeeper and accountant will all thank you.  

Keep an eye out for more sales-focused marketing programs in my "Do It! Marketing Summer Sales Seminars" series of FREE virtual events.

More details on that coming soon!

Tags: thought leadership marketing, cold calling, telephone prospecting, trusted advisor marketing, sales rejection, sales prospecting, marketing coaching, marketing coach, thought leadership, doit marketing, do it marketing, doitmarketing, sales and marketing, lead generation

Marketing Coach: Master the Cold Call Once and for All

doitmarketing, marketing speaker, marketing coach

You hate cold calling, yeah, yeah, I know BUT...

Truth is, nothing beats having a voice-to-voice conversation with a real prospect. And when you reach prospects, you have less than 30 seconds to interest and engage them. Make a mistake and there are no second chances.

You need to have a solid, proven plan to engage your prospects by phone and consistently win them over so that more sales happen.

Join me as I interview Wendy Weiss, the "Queen of Cold Calling," for this empowering call where you will get specific answers to:

  • Why cold call at all? Is it old-fashioned? Does it even work?
  • Haven’t e-mail and social media replaced cold calling?
  • How do I know whom to call?
  • What should I say? 
  • What is a good generic script?
  • How can I convince prospects to speak with me without giving them the feeling I’m trying to ‘sell’ them something? 
  • How do I deal with voicemail? Should I leave a message?
  • Why doesn’t anyone ever call me back?
  • And a whole lot more...

We'll have room on the teleseminar line for 100 people so take 10 seconds to register now so you don't miss out.

Tags: marketing for speakers, consultant marketing, thought leadership marketing, keynote speaker, business coaching, trusted advisor marketing, marketing expert, sales rejection, sales prospecting, marketing coaching, marketing coach, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, doit marketing, do it marketing, doitmarketing, sales and marketing, lead generation

Marketing Speaker: Why Your Inbound Leads Are a 911 Call

marketing speaker marketing coach doit marketing911 means emergency response.

The sooner, the better.

You get there quick or the patient dies. 

As a marketing speaker and marketing coach, I encourage my clients and seminar participants to UP the urgency of their marketing and sales response times. 

Why? 

Well... Do you know the lead follow-up time that maximizes your sales for online leads that come through your website or email? Or your leads/prospect inquiries that come in by phone?

Do you think it's: 

a. 48 hours

b. 24 hours

c. 8 hours

d. 1 hour

e. 15 minutes

f. Whenever we get around to it - they can wait

Research from MarketingProfs and Hubspot proves that the lead follow-up time that maximizes sales is e. within 15 minutes!

What does that mean to you, your marketing efforts, your sales team, and your own personal schedule as a business owner or entrepreneur?

Simple - when it comes to responding to leads, the mantra is "Now or never."

Bad news: Your leads won't wait - they're SEEKING a solution NOW. You are not the only service provider they are calling. Not by a long shot.

Good news: A lead converted to a prospect FAST (meaning you had a conversation within 15 minutes of first contact) is much more likely to stop looking. Once they connect with a real live human being who conveys the fact that they understand the situation AND they are in a position to help... the frenzied dialing and emailing stops. All the previous unanswered calls, emails, and web forms go by the wayside and YOU HAVE YOUR SHOT. 

So don't blow it. Don't be tempted to start waxing poetic about how great your product, your service, your program and your people are. STOP.

A conversation that is mostly listening on your end is much more likely to build trust and rapport on their end. 

But the point is speed. Why? Because responsiveness in the sales process equates to responsiveness in the business relationship.

The bottom line is that your leads CANNOT wait.

Your prospects won't wait.

Think of your own buying behavior. You leave a message - you keep dialing. Someone answers, and you're problem is 80% solved and it's THAT salesperson who gets the chance to win your business. 

The only exception to the 911 rule is a publicity lead. When a reporter calls, it's NOT a 911...

It's a FIVE ALARM fire in your pants.

So if 911 is emergency response, putting the fire out in your pants would be a critical right-now drop-what-you're doing this second response. Reporters' deadlines are expressed in hours, sometimes minutes. They have sources coming at them all day, every day. If a reporter wants to feature or include you in their story - RUN, don't walk to the nearest phone or internet connection and get them what they need. Otherwise, you're toast.

And you looked so good in those pants, too. A real shame.  

Remember - whether it's prospects calling you to do business or journalists responding to a press release or interview request, speed KILLS (the competition!)

Grab your FREE copy of the Strategic Marketing eBook.

And then leave a comment below with your questions, thoughts, and advice on the ideas above.

Are you a DO IT freak? Welcome to the club!! Please use the social media buttons at the top of this post to share it with your network. YOU are a rock star!

Tags: marketing speaker, business coaching, public relations, marketing coach, small business marketing, small business marketing speaker, small business marketing coach, pr, business coach, lead generation